Improvement in apparatus for purifying coal-oil



BENJAMIN GRAWFBD, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 113,023, dated March 28, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUFQR PURIFYING COAL-OIL.

The Schedule referred to Ln these Letters Patent and making peut of the name.

To all whom it-ma/y concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN CRAWFORD, of Allegheny City, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an'Apparatus for the Better Purification of Kerosene .or Coal-Oil and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a section taken vertically through the center of the apparatus.

The object of this invention is to furnish persons who use any of the light hydrocarbon illuminating oils with a simple apparatus by means of which such oils can be readily tested, and when found dangerous, from containing too much of the light and volatile fluids and gases originally combined with them, a safe and convenient means is aiorded to extract the dangerous fluids which generate explosive gas at low;

temperatures.

To ascertain the degree of safety to which such oils have been reduced in the process of distillation, it is' usual to subject them to the trial known as the firetest. For this purpose pyrometers of various kinds are used, by which the degree of heat at which the oil flashes is noted, A l

With my apparatus I furnish a small dipper, in which the oil Acan be taken from the apparatus and safely tested from time'to time, by which means Vthe quality of the oil can be ascertained. lAfter treatment in the apparatus it can be again tested during the process of cooling, which will show whether it has been reduced to the desired point of safety.

The test is made by drawing a lighted match slowly across, and within about half an inch of the surface of thev heated oil, and as soon as the gas rises it will Hash like gunpowder, when the degree of heat is immediately noted. v

[o be perfectly safe from generating gas, oil ought not to flash at a temperature less than 105'degrees of Fahrenheit, as the heat of alamp when burning is from 95 to 100 degrees. Other modes than the, liretest may be used to ascertainl the quality of the oil, or if ric/cest is made atV all the oil can be safely used after treatment in my apparatus.

The following is a description of my invention.

In the accompanying drawing I vhave represented a portable purifyer which is adapted for domestic use, but it will be obviousvfrom the following description that the apparatus may be made on a larger scale.

rlhe vessel A, which may be made' oi' any suitable capacity, is intended for containing hot water of a temperature ranging from 212O Fahreiiheitdoivn.

This vessel A is provided with handles a. a, and it has a circular opening through its top to receive and afford support to an oil-trunk, B. This oil-trunk is intended for receiving the oilwhich it is desired. to purify, and it should sit well down into theA vessel A, so that the oil in it will be subjected to the heat of the water put into this vessel A.

A bead or dange, b, which surrounds the vessel B, aords a support for this upon the top of the outer vessel A, as shown in the drawing.

The vessel B is providedwith a handle, g, for lifting it, and this vessel contains a stirrer, which consist of a perforated plate, c, a perforated cylindrical portion, c', and a long tubular handle, O. The handle O rises above the upper end of the oil-vessel B,

and can be grasped in the hand when it is desired to agitate the oil in said vessel. A

An opening through the side of the tubular handle G is made for the purpose of exposing to view a thermometer, D, which may be employed for indicating the temperature of the oil under experiment. I"In'addition `to a thermometer, a specic-'gravity tube alcoholometer, may be employed for giving the specific gravity of ,the oil, and indicating when the process should cease. If desirable, a glass plate may he inserted into the handle O or into the vessel B, and graduated in such manner. as will indicatetby the varying height of the oil during the evaporating process, the specific gravity of :the oil.

The essential parts of the apparatus are the two vessels A and B, the former adapted for hot water `and the latter for the uid which it'is designed to puiify. I prefer, however, to employ in combination therewith the stirrer or agitator and its tubular handle, adapted toreoeive and expose to view a thermometer or a specific-gravity indicator. c

The-oil to'be purified and rendered safe for illumination is put into the vessel B, and boilingwaten is put into the vessel A. When the vessel B is put iu.- to the boiling water the heat thereof will be transmitted to the oil, which will drive off the highly volatile and explosive elements in the oil in the form oi' vapor or gas, and leave behind the heavier'iiunl, which may be burned with safety. VThe time occupied in conducting the process of vaporization will vary according to the amount of explosive fluid contained in the fluid submitted to the process; and by means oi' a device which will indicate the specific gravity of fluids, accompanied with proper directions tor using it, any person can readily determine when the tliiid would be safe for illumination. The object of using hot water instead of the heat of' a dame is to avoid the possibility of an accident during the process.

By means of an apparatus, substantially as I have above described, any person using the light explosive hydrocarbon oils for illumination, such as are sold in the market undei' various naines, can, iu a short v time, separate all of the lighter and explosive princthe most volatile fluids from the fluid'- under treatples from the oils. ment, vsubstantially as described. l 4

Having described my invention, 3. The tubular handle O of the agitator, adapted What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letto receive athermometer, D, substantially as described. ters Patent, is- 4. The treatment of explosive burning uids'to a 1. An apparatus for evaporating benzine and other hot-water bath, by means substantially as described. light volatile uids, which produce explosive gases at BEN J CRAWFORD. low temperature, from illuminating oils, constructed substantially as described. Witnesses: I

2. The combination with the oil-receiver of the ap- R. T. CAMPBELL,

paratus of an agitator for facilitating the escape of J. N. CAMPBELL. 

